A Rogue's Story
by Poisonousone
Summary: A retired SI:7 assassin is called back to service by the Earthen Ring.  His mission is to lead a squad of Rogues to discover where the allied forces of Azeroth may strike at Deathwing the Destroyer, but this isnt a mission for just anyone.


**A Rogue's Story**

Ironforge has always had a musty smell in the air, but it seemed particularly bad today. Lian coughed as he left the bank and headed north towards the mystic ward. The Dwarf city was quite amazing to him when he came from his home, Stormwind, but it didn't hold the same majestic feeling in him anymore due to living there for the past 2 years.

Lian's various exploits during his time serving with SI:7 had left him with quite a bit of money. If nothing else, they paid well; most likely to gain the loyalty of all the shady characters that were more loyal to gold than the Alliance.

Being Human, Lian was much taller than most denizens of Ironforge. He attracted much more attention than he would like, but his desire to separate himself from his home was much stronger than his desire to remain hidden. As he walked by the curved hallway that led to the mountains, he felt a gust of wind blow his hair. He never liked keeping his hair long, and he suffered for it whenever he got too close to the City Gate. Thankfully, he didn't have to go into Dun Morogh much. He walked a bit longer before approaching his small home in the Mystic Ward.

He walked into his house and tossed the small sack of gold onto his bed. He slowly walked upstairs and sat down at the table, where some fresh bread he bought earlier that day was still steaming in its basket.

"You can come out, Shaw" he said in no particular direction

Out of the far corner from where Lian was sitting, Mathias Shaw, commander of the SI:7 assassins, stepped into view from between two bookcases.

"How did you know I was here?" he said to Lian

"The paper I put between the door and the frame wasn't there" he replied, slouching in his seat.

"Wait, I put the paper back before you got here." Shaw said, confused

"You only put one of the pieces back" Lian said

"I can't believe you got me with such an old trick" Shaw said, smiling.

"Why are you here?" Lian said, some annoyance in his voice

"You know why" Shaw said, walking across the room. He sat down across the table from Lian. "May I?" he said, gesturing toward the bread on the table.

"Sure" Lian told him, taking a small roll from the basket himself.

"I told your captain that I wasn't interested in any more missions" Lian said before Shaw could speak

"I know, but you can't let what happened back then decide _for_ you" Shaw told him before taking a bite from the roll.

Lian began to flashback to particular memories he didn't want to relive.

"I'm done with that life now, Shaw" he said and took a small bite, interrupting his memory.

"You wouldn't be working for SI:7, you know" Shaw said to him

"Your man didn't mention that, who _would_ I be working for?"

"From what I head, my man didn't have a chance to explain, Lian. We were contacted about this mission by the Earthen Ring, though you wouldn't be working for them, specifically. From what I've been told, It's an independent mission which will likely be funded by quite a few groups." Shaw explained

"What exactly _is_ this assignment?" Lian said, wondering what the Earthen Ring wanted with a former SI:7 assassin

"I'm not entirely sure, you would have to ask one of the Shamans that came to Stormwind" Shaw said

"_You're _not sure? You're in command of SI:7, and they wouldn't tell _you_ what this dam mission is?" Lian said in disbelief.

"You know about the recent Cultist infiltrations in Stormwind. The information is on a need to know basis, and apparently, I don't."

Liam grew annoyed. "If this assignment isn't under SI:7 jurisdiction, then why are _you_ trying to convince me to do this?"

"Varian asked me to." Shaw said.

The room grew quiet for a moment.

"The King asked you to see me?" Lian said, not sure what to think.

"Well, it was the Prince's idea to have _me_ convince you, but yes, the King was the one who asked me to come." Shaw said

"The Prince? He must be growing up fast if he knows about a mission so secret" Lian said

"He dealt with more than he should have while his father was missing. He knows his people well because of it" Shaw said

"Why _me_, Shaw?" Lian asked in an almost disappointed tone

"You're the best assassin SI:7 has seen in a hundred years. People like us don't just quit, Lian. I know you still look over your shoulder every time you turn, and those skills you learned never get _un_-learned. This is a chance to do something important with them, even more so than all those missions you did while with us"

"Downplaying all those assassinations SI:7 does, huh, Shaw? I didn't think I'd ever hear you do that" Lian interrupted him

"This goes beyond the war with the Horde, Lian" Shaw told him

"Is that a fact? I guess it would with the Earthen Ring." Lian said

"Look, it's up to you at this point. I've tried to convince you" …a moment passed. "It's a nice place you have here, by the way. I expected you to be in the Forlorn Cavern, you know." Shaw said

"It's quieter here. The only time things get exciting in this Ward is when an apprentice mage's firebolt accidentally blows him into the pool." Lian told Shaw

Shaw chuckled. "Rookies, huh? I've got a new trainee who wouldn't know his dagger from his ass."

The room was quiet for a second, as Lian didn't want to start reminiscing with Shaw.

Shaw spoke up, noticing the quiet: "Well, I guess I'll be going now. If you want to do something good for the world, come to Stormwind and seek out a shaman named 'Umbrua'. She can tell you more."

Shaw stood up and walked to the top of the stairs. Before he could take a step down, Lian said "Shaw!"

"yea?"

"..It was good to see you again." Lian said to the rogue

"you too, old friend." Shaw said before walking down the stairs.

Lian sat pondering the conversation for a moment and then stood up to walk to the balcony of his home. He caught Shaw leaving out the front door. "Shaw!" he shouted down.

"What is it?" Shaw asked.

"My bag, please!" He said and held out his hand

"How the _hell_ did you- nevermind." Shaw said letting out a small laugh as he removed the small sack Lian had just returned from the bank with from his belt, and tossed it back up to him.

"I hope to see you soon" Shaw said to him

"And you too" Lian said back.

Shaw turned away and started walking towards the great forge.

Lian walked back into his home, and took a small pipe from his pocket, along with a bag of tobacco.

He lit the pipe with a match that was on the end of the table. A thought couldn't escape him as he began to smoke:

'What the hell did the Earthen Ring want with me?'

Two days after Matthias had come to his home about this mysterious assignment, Lian decided that he would humor the Earthen Ring and hear them out at least.

"Just hear them out for now." He said under his breath as he waited for the Deeprun Tram to arrive.

There were quite a few people waiting for the tram along with Lian: A few mages, a family on vacation, and a group of Paladins wearing Argent Crusade tabards.

The Tram had been quite busy in the past few weeks due to the Gryphon keeper recently increasing his fees. Apparently, the Shattering made the Gryphons quite nervous about going into certain areas, and people didn't want to fly on a nervous bird.

He had just begun to slouch on the bench when the tram roared into the station before the brakes began to squeak like a million rats being strangled.

A few people got off the tram before he could get on. Mostly dwarves, but a night elf was also there. 'Strange' Lian thought. Night elves didn't particularly like the city of Ironforge, being underground and poorly ventilated. 'Must be passing through' Lian thought.

Lian shook the thought off his mind before stepping onto the tram with one of the paladins from the group who couldn't fit onto the other platform. The platform slowly began moving, accelerating remarkably fast toward Stormwind.

"How are ya?" the dwarf asked in their usual boisterous tone.

"Good, and you?" Lian replied. He couldn't help but look for any weaknesses in the Paladin's polished plate armor. Even years after leaving SI:7, his training was still making him act unconsciously.

"Can't complain, boy. Whats yer name?" the Dwarf asked.

'5 weak spots. A small dent in his left pauldron, an un-repaired crack in his breastplate on the right third abdominal, a rusty buckle on his belt, a loose strap on his legging, and an untied boot'

Lian touched his dagger he had hidden on his leg and said "it's Lian, yours?"

"Tundir! I'm a traveling Paladin with the Argent Crusade, helping people wherever they need help!" he half-shouted at Lian who was standing all but a yard and a half away from him.

"Yes, I noticed your tabards. And I heard that Lights Hope looks very different now that Lord Fordring has returned." Lian remarked to the short man.

"Heard about that, did ya? Aye, that Chapel is as green as the forests of Elwynn thanks the Doo-ids of the Cenarion Circle." Tundir said, mispronouncing "Druids". It was clear that he had a drink or two in him, though that likely applies to all dwarves, Lian thought.

"Its nice to know that the scourge's taint can be cured. I'm sure it gives people hope" Lian said.

"More than ya know, lad." Tundir said in a melancholy tone.

The two grew quiet for a moment before the Tram came screeching to a halt at the entrance to Stormwind.

Lian and Tundir stepped off the tram, letting some travelers on behind them.

Tundir spoke up "nice talking to ya, Lian."

Lian said "yes, it was."

Tundir said "Good Fortune!" then walked away with the rest of the Crusaders.

Lian couldn't help but calculate the odds of defeating a fully armored Paladin with nothing but his hidden dagger and linen clothes. 'not good' he finally said before walking out the tunnel to the Dwarven District of Stormwind.

'Finally, a breath of fresh air that doesn't freeze my lungs' Lian thought as he stepped through the threshold to the city. Ironforge's stuffy air wouldn't be missed on this trip, or that of Dun Morogh. One would burn your lungs, the other would freeze them.

A patrolling guard was walking by and Lian stopped him.

"Guard!" he shouted

"Something I can do for you, citizen?" the guard said back

"Do you know where I can find a Shaman named Umbrua?" he asked

"I don't know anybody by that name, but most Shaman spend their time in The Golden Keg inn, it's just down the road on the right" the guard said, pointing north

"Thank you" he said to the guard before letting him walk away.

'Umbrua is a Draenei name, why would she be in a Dwarven inn?' Lian couldn't help but analyze the situation. His training was once again surfacing.

The walk to the Golden Keg was a short one. It was a typical Dwarven inn; quite a few people inside, all of them drinking.

He didn't see any Draenei among the crowd.

"Barmaid!" he shouted at a waitress walking among the tables

"Shaman Unbrua?" he shouted over the boisterous crowd.

She pointed to the second floor of the inn, and Lian walked up the left staircase.

There were two dwarves at the top of the staircase in feathery blue amor. "Shaman Umbrua?" he asked them. One of them gestured toward the other side of the second floor area, where Lian noticed a tall Draenei woman.

He walked up to the woman. Before he could speak, the woman greeted him in the Draenei tongue "Krona'ky Kristor, human. What can I do for you?" she said.

Lian had no idea what she just said, and instead of making a joke and mockingly insulting her back, he only said "My name is Lian, are you Umbrua?"

"Oh, yes, I am Umbrua of the Earthen Ring, it is a pleasure to meet a man of your experience, Lian." She said, bowing slightly.

Lian reminisced about all the time he dealt with Draenei in the past, and how he always found their formal way of speaking a little annoying at times.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to get straight to the point. Mathias Shaw said that you have a… 'proposition' for me." He said.

"yes, Lian. Have a seat, please." She motioned to a table she was standing near, and the two sat down as a female dwarf walked up to them.

"Somethin I can get ya, lad?" she asked.

"a small bourbon, please" Lian said, getting comfortable.

"And you, lass?" she said to Umbrua

"Pomegranate juice for me, please." She said to the barmaid.

The woman walked away, and Umbrua was the first to speak up.

"The Earthen Ring needs your assistance, Lian." She said to Lian.

"Why would the Earthen Ring need a former assassin? I thought you Shamans looked down on our style of fighting." Lian said, wanted to know why he was here.

"Most shaman do, and yet, most also see the need for it, and the potential of your kind, human." She said back.

"But we need you for a very dangerous mission." She continued "Do you know the name Cho'gall?"

"yea, he's an insane Ogre in charge of the Twilight Cult." He replied

"Precisely." She said, as the barmaid returned with their drinks. Lian took his, and drank a bit of the room-temerature Bourbon. 'Smooth' he thought.

"So, what's the mad Ogre got to do with me?" Lian asked

Umbrua took a sip of her Pomegranate juice and said "Before we go any further, I must have your secrecy. Nobody is to know about this discussion."

"Very well, Umbrua" Lian grudgingly agreed to the secrecy, like he had many times in the past with many other people.

"Good. Cho'gall is the leader of the Twilight's Hammer, as you said, and answers to Deathwing himself." She said.

'Deathwing' Lian thought. 'Fantastic'. Lian wasn't In Stormwind when the Black Dragon had attacked, but he had seen the damage, and knew of Deathwing's wrath. He wanst excited to hear the rest of this mission.

"Cho'gall communicates with… _him _regularly. We want you to lead a team of men, like yourself, into Cho'gall's domain and find any information about Deathwing, including his current location." Umbrua told Lian.

Lian took a fairly large drink of his Bourbon and only one sarcastic word could come out of his mouth: "Great."

"You are in agreement?" She asked, confused at the Human's sarcasm.

"I didn't say that." Lian replied "you said I'd be leading a team?" he continued

"yes, a team of similar skills to yours, Lian." Umbrua said

"I haven't worked with anyone in a while, and all of the people I trusted to fight beside me are either dead or 'retired'. I don't work with people I don't know, Shaman. We Rogues are not a trustworthy bunch, even amongst ourselves." Lian explained.

It was true enough. Rogues are known to be the worst kinds of people: cutthroats, highwaymen, brigands, thieves, murderers, and the occasional psychopathic sadist. Even fellow Rogues didn't entirely trust each other, and were often trained that way. SI:7 trained men to work together, but it didn't stop an occasional bad apple from betraying his people for the sake of coin, making even their agents wary of others.

"I understand that, but the Earthen Ring has many friends, and time is on our side in this instance." Umbrua said.

"what do you mean?" Lian asked, confused at what she meant.

"we want you to train a squad specifically for this mission." Umbrua said

"you want me to train an entire squad of assassins and thieves? That will take months!" Lian said, almost outraged at the responsibility this mission was calling for.

"as I said, time is on our side." Umbrua said before taking a sip of her pomegranate juice. "an adventurer was recently on an assignment in the Twilight Highlands which exposed Cho'gall's current location and activities. He believes that his fortress is impregnable, and that as long as he stays there, he is safe. He does not intend to go anywhere anytime soon." Unbrua explained.

"Okay, so here's how I see it: you want me to train and lead a squad of Rogues into the domain of one of the most powerful people in the world, and 'pick his pocket' for a map to an even _more_ powerful person, and you think that it's just gonna be as simple as that?" Lian asked, light annoyance as his bourbon began to go to his head

"You will be well rewarded, if that is what you seek." Umbrua said, hoping to coax the man into agreement.

"A reward isn't worth much if you're not alive to spend it." Lian said

"Deathwing will destroy us all if we do not act, Rogue. He possesses power that not even the Lady Alexstrasza could defeat. We must all act together, as one force; Including headstrong assassins who can't see past their own desires. I'm sure you know of the damage the Dragon did to this city, Lian, and I can assure you, it was but a taste of his true malice. It is not the Earthen Ring that calls you, it is all of Azeroth. But, for any of this to happen, we must know _where_ to strike, otherwise… what is the human expression? We might as well be… Arguing with ice, I believe it is." Umbrua explained A moment passed before anything was spoken.

"You refuse?" she asked, breaking the silence.

The rogue finished the rest of his bourbon "If I were to do this, I would want to have complete control of the mission. Who goes, who doesn't go; and which person does what."

"Of course, Lian." Umbrua agreed.

"And I would want to train the squad in any way I want." He continued.

"In any way you see fit" Umbrua encouraged him.

Lian grew quiet for a moment before saying:

"Okay, I'll do it."

'What the hell am I doing?' Lian thought to himself as he walked into SI:7 headquarters.

There were a few trainees around the main room. His old friends Jasper Fel and Sloan McCoy were standing next to the staircase, arguing about prices of their… "goods" to sell to the agents.

"Jas, McCoy." Lian said to them, they looked up to see Lian, back in the HQ after 2 years.

"Lian! What are _you_ doing here?" McCoy said, surprised

"That's a fine 'Hello'." Lian said back, laughing

"Sorry, but it's a bit of a shock to see you after the way you left. How have you been?" Sloan walked up and hugged him.

"Surviving, or at least trying to." He said as he released her. "I've got something big coming up, not for SI:7, but I might need some of your good stuff"

"Please, she wouldn't know a good poison if someone poisoned her with it" Jasper said sarcastically.

"And you would blow through your entire stock without me!" she countered back at him, then turned to Lian "One time, this _moron_ told an agent to use 12 times as much poison as needed on a target. It was enough to kill a Mammoth!"

Jasper just scowled at her, then turned back to Lian "So, what's this Op?"

"Sorry Jas, but I can't tell you that. You know how it is." Lian said

"Alright, alright. You know who to get the good stuff from though, right?" he asked, ever the Scoundrel of a salesman.

"You know it, you two will be my first stop."

"you mean _I _will be your first stop, this idiot couldn't sell a growing salve to a Gnome!" McCoy joked, gesturing to Jasper.

"Oh shut up! At least I can hit a target with my blade! You couldn't hit the side of a house!" Jasper was clearly at his wits end, however short his wit was.

"You're going on about your 'skills' again? It's okay to have a small penis! You don't have to over-compensate by bragging all the time." Sloan countered, giggling as she teased him.

The two were clearly back to the argument they were having before Lian came, so he decided to just leave and let them slug it out like they always do.

He walked up the stairs to the area that Mathias used as an "office" most people would call it. Agents have called that area "the lions den" because people who went up there came back in pieces on more than one occasion.

To Lian's surprise, Shaw wasn't there. There was a large table in the center of the room, with several maps of various areas of Azeroth. Stacks of boxes lined the back wall of the room, along with a weapon rack on the right side. This is the room used to plan operations. It took Lian back to his time in these halls. Every movement planned to the second, every enemy's death coordinated. His missions were exhilarating.

_Get back to reality, Lian_

He interrupted his memories, only a second before some of the boxes on the back wall tumbled over, to his shock.

"_DAMMIT!"_ he heard a familiar voice yell from behind a couple boxes.

"Renzik?" he shouted

"Who the hell is that? Shaw? Where the _hell_ is the dam blasting powder I asked fo- Lian?" the Goblin had _apparently _a surprised look on his face as he rounded to corner into view. Lian couldn't make heads or tails of his expression, Goblins were hard to read.

"Having a little trouble, there, Shiv?" Lian asked- attempting to stifle his laughter at Renzik's clumsiness

"I'm looking for the dam barrel of blasting powder that was _supposed_ to be delivered three hours ago! I've got this idea for exploding toys that'll totally catch our targets off guard! Imagine it! An enemy sees a harmless little stuffed bear in the road, except that little bear has enough explosives in it to blast half of azeroth back to Deepholm! HAHA!"

"uhh, good luck with that, Ren. Have you seen Shaw?" Lian asked changing the subject.

"he's due back any- oh, he's coming up the stairs now" he pointed to the staircase.

"Shaw!" Lian shouted. Matthias looked up and quickened his pace to meet his old friend.

"Lian, this is a surprise. Does this mean you've reconsidered the offer I told you about?" Shaw asked

"yea, I've accepted, and I'm gonna be training a squad myse-"

"Shaw, where the hell is the blasting powder I asked for?" Rensik shouted, interrupting Lian.

"oh, it must be in the basement, but if you're going to be using explosives again, can you do it outside?" slight irritation in his voice.

_Goblins never were known for their ethics, this guy must have blown something up that he shouldn't have._

"Fine!" Renzik started to walk away, and started to shout back "But if that dam blasting powder isnt the 6-10-10 mixture, its not gonna matter where I blow it, all of Stormwind will just be a hole in the ground"

His voice trailed off as he walked away.

"what were you saying?" shaw turned to Lian

"I've accepted the job, and I'm going to be training a squad for it. I'm here to ask for a few recruits that show some promise" Lian crossed his arms as he explained

"I can't do that without a direct order from the King. Any non-alliance missions are out of the jurisdiction of SI:7, and giving you recruits without the order is technically treason." Shaw explained.

"I'm aware, the order will come soon enough. In the meantime, I need you to keep an eye out for-" Lian stopped.

_A low creak pierced Lian's ears, someone else is in this room._

_Lian cocked his head and closed his eyes for a moment… *thud*_

_Two feet to my 3 o'clock_

_In one fluid motion, Lian slipped his dagger out of its sheath, while stepping to his right, he slung the blade out, his arm fully extended, the dagger stopped midair as he heard a whimper._

"And whose throat would this be?" Lian said in the direction of his dagger.

_A human faded into view, wearing SI:7 armor_

Shaw glared at the young man under Lian's blade. "Jack, what the HELL are you doing?" he shouted at him.

"this one of yours?" Lian asked Shaw

"He's a recruit, yes, one of mine" Shaw told Lian.

"I- I'm just p-practicing like you said, S-Sir!" the kid stammered out a response to Shaw's shouting.

"you picked a hell of a practice area, kid." Lian said and lowered his dagger. He sheathed it, then sternly said to the recruit "Now, get outta here!"

"Yessir", the recruit stammered out before nearly tripping over his own feet on his way out of the room.

"What the hell, Shaw?" Lian said to him in frustration

"I'm surprised I didn't notice him earlier, sorry about that." Shaw said to Lian

"Anyway- I need you to keep an eye out for any promising recruits that may be of use in this mission. You know the type I want." Lian continued his earlier conversation

"Yea, I do. When I get the order, I'll write you." Shaw said, leaning over the large table.

"Thanks." Lian said.

"Lian, one last thing. I know you aren't a fan of our intelligence gathering since the… incident, but if you need anything, SI:7 will help you out." Shaw said

"Incident? Is that what they're calling it now?" Lian said.

"you know what I mean, Lian" Matthias said seriously

"No, what do you mean? That incident is responsible for more than the bodycount I had that day!" Lian said angrily

"I didn't want to start this..." Matthias explained.

"32, by the way, 32 innocent lives I took that day, on SI:7 orders." Lian said

"our intelligence said it was a barracks!" Shaw almost shouted at him

"It was a HOMELESS SHELTER! 32 Innocent non-combatants killed because of your shitty intel! I am not like every zealot paladin the alliance commands, I don't hate the Horde. I want this war to end! Your shitty intel is responsible for re-kindling a war between the Alliance and Horde the likes of which we haven't seen since the time of Lothar! Every slaughtered farm-boy this war claims is because of that INCIDENT!" Lian panted as he finished shouting.

Matthias remained silent. He knew Lian was right, and couldn't blame him for reacting the way he did. Things like this are the cost of being SI:7 agents, perhaps it is too high a cost.

Lian took a moment to regain his composure before saying "I'll collect my own intel, goodbye, Matthias." Then he turned to leave.

Matthias remained silent.

_One last stop before starting this mission._ Lian thought to himself as he walked up the winding ramp to the Mage's tower in Stormwind. He would have been dizzy if he was walking any faster.

After finally getting to the top, he sighed in frustration when he realized that there was another ramp to climb inside the tower itself.

"dam mages…" he muttered to himself.

After finally making it to the top of the tower, he was greeted by a mage apprentice in a small room where a green portal stood.

"Can I help you, sir?" the young woman asked

"I need to get to Shattrath City." Lian replied

"That is not something we can just… do, sir"

Lian cut a small sack from his belt and handed it to the girl. Her eyes widened when she realized it was filled with gold coins.

"This way, sir." She said and gestured to the portal.

Lian hesitated for a moment before going through the portal, but decided that the danger here was minimal at worst, and stepped through.

Entering a portal is a strange experience. You have to brace yourself for a moment after you go through. The sudden change in smell was always the part that affected Lian the most. The tower is in the middle of the verdant mage district of Stormwind. It smelled of grass and apple trees, to suddenly change to the stuffy smell of paper and books that filled the Mage's library was an… odd sensation.

The apprentice had followed through the portal right behind Lian, and motioned for him to follow her.

She walked to an older woman, sitting at the side of the room, who was apparently attempting to absorb a small book through her nose.

The apprentice walked up and whispered something into her ear, and handed her the sack. The woman put her book down and stood up.

"What is your reason for wishing to enter Shattrath City?" the woman sharply asked Lian.

Without saying anything, Lian reached in his pocket, and tossed a small, flat coin to her.

She caught it effortlessly, and examined it. "Very well." She tossed it back. Lian caught it and looked at it. It was his old SI:7 tag, every agent is required to keep one on him. they're similar to dog tags, but these are specially designed for the enemy to not be able to recognize their purpose of identifying an assassin.

The older woman walked back to another table and picked up a book, and a small rock. She opened the book to a marked page, and began softly reading an incantation aloud. She held the rock out in front of her, and the stone floated out of her hand, and a rune on it began to glow.

When the mage finished her incantation, the stone cracked and appeared to explode outward, leaving the glowing portal in its wake.

"Thank you." He said to the woman.

"You're welcome." The woman said, bowing slightly.

Lian held his breath and entered the portal.

As he came through the other side, Lian saw a great white light, bright enough to pierce every corner of Ironforge and Stormwind. The light began to dim, and Lian realized that it was the great Naaru, A'dal, master of Shattrath City.

Lian kneeled before the creature of light, out of respect. He attempted to get back up a moment later, but found he could not. A calmness filled his mind, and body.

_It must be the Naaru doing this._

He attempted to fight it for a moment, but then he heard words in his head.

**Darkness fills your mind, young one. Great Darkness, indeed.**

Lian looked around, he saw guards, and citizens in the chamber, but no one reacted to the words he hear. Lian was the only one who could hear them.

**Great Darkness has filled your life, human. But do not despair, for there is Light yet within you. The Light will not abandon you.**

_No wonder the Draenei worship these things._

**Go now, human. Find your companion, and fulfill your destiny. Go with the Light!**

Lian felt the hold on him break, like the embrace of a lover being broken. Strange feelings filled Lian.

_How did he know I am here to find someone? Just how powerful is this Naaru?_

Lian stared at the glowing form of A'dal floating in the huge chamber. His body was like a thousand crystals of all sizes spinning around his form, each one shining like the sun. His body alone was enough to light the entire chamber.

_Being of pure light, indeed._

He recalled the line from a Draenei book he read. The author used that phrase to describe the Naaru. Lian didn't understand it until now. He never understood how something could be made of light, when light had no form, but 'light' wasn't describing what he was made of, it was describing his character. A creature of goodness, of light, and of heaven.

_Wait, is this thing even a 'He'?_ _ …Why am I thinking about this? Get back to the reason you came here, Lian!_

His curiosity about his creature would have to wait. Lian had to find someone.


End file.
